Her long hair fell over her face like a curtain, but it did nothing to hide the ghostly paleness of her skin or the stark white dress she wore.
The instant I saw her, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
“You are…?”
Even her voice was creepy.
It was hoarse, almost brittle.
“…..”
Seeing that I wasn’t answering, the ’ghost’ tilted her head, only to make herself look even creepier.
Thankfully, I was quick to recover as I looked at the door behind me.
“Are you Sarah?”
“…Yes?”
Sarah slowly raised a hand to her face, gently parting her hair to reveal deep brown eyes and thin, red lips. There was no denying that she was quite beautiful, but she really did look too much like a ghost.
“Oh.”
It also looked like she recognized me.
“You… must be the Squad Leader.”
“It looks like you’ve been filled in.”
“…Yes.”
Her large eyes blinked before she turned her attention towards the door behind me.
As if getting her message, I took a step to the side as she took out her keys and opened the door, revealing her room. It was relatively tidy. Not much different from mine. Upon entering, she paused by the counter near the door, quietly pouring hot water into a small cup before dropping in a tea bag.
She then looked at me.
“Would you… like one?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“…Oh.”
She brought the cup to her lip before flinching.
“Hot…”
And yet…
She still brought her lips down.
“Hot.”
It was a baffling sight, but I quickly dismissed it as I directly asked her about her situation.
“I’ve been told that you’re sick. What did you get? Is it a cold?”
At the same time I asked her, I raised my hand to show the small plastic bag that I was carrying.
“There’s some medicine and snacks inside if you need them. I thou—”
“It’s not a cold.”
Sarah shook her head while putting the tea cup down.
My breath paused.
Could this really be because of my game?
“I’m not really sure why. It happened after I played the weird game…”
“Was it that scary?”
“It was scary… yes, but not scary enough to make me sick. It’s something else.”
’So it’s not the game?’
I paused and frowned.
’…If it’s not the game, then what can it be? This doesn’t seem like a symptom of fractures as well. So then…?’
“Maybe you’re on your period?”
“Oh, that cou—” I suddenly paused, feeling my entire body freeze as a head popped up beside me and rested on my shoulder. With her short black hair and sharp eyes, she appeared from out of nowhere as I nearly had a heart attack.
However, the moment I caught sight of her face, I instantly knew who she was.
“Team Leader…?”
“Oh, it looks like you recognize me.”
Team Leader Soran brought her chin away from my shoulder as she looked at Sarah.
She placed her hand over her chin.
“Are you usually this pale? You look like a ghost.”
So you see it too?
As expected of a Team Leader.
Her eyes were sharp.
“…I… am.”
“Mhm.”
The Team Leader stepped closer to Sarah and gently placed a hand on her forehead. She nodded a couple of times, then turned her gaze toward me.
“This is tough.”
“…Is it serious?”
“No.”
“Then…?”
“I have no idea what she has.”
“…..”
She’s even worse than the Section Chief!
“Are you maybe related to the Section Chief?”
“No, why?”
“…Never mind.”
Right, right.
Everyone in this Guild was a lunatic. How could I forget that?
“I’m surprised you’d think I’m related to the Section Chief. The two of us look nothing alike.”
But you both are certainly not mentally sane in the mind.
“Either way, even though I don’t know what she has, it’s not a big problem. Here. Open your mouth.”
Taking out what looked like a pill, she hovered it above Sarah’s face, startling her. However, before she could even voice out an objection, the Team Leader grabbed her chin, prompting Sarah to let out a surprised yelp before tossing the pill into her mouth.
“….!”
“Make sure to swallow.”
Patting her hands in satisfaction, the Team Leader looked at me.
“What…?”
“I…”
I gave up. Staring at Sarah, whose face turned even paler, I just decided to turn a blind eye. I saw nothing. Wasn’t present. And I heard nothing.
“Don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine. The pill I gave her should heal her real quick. In any case, I actually came here for you.”
I froze.
She came for me.
Oh, no…
I tried to take a step back, but she stopped me before I could leave.
“I heard that you’re the new Squad Leader under my command. And that you don’t have powers too. This is great. Very good.”
The more she looked at me, the more satisfied she seemed.
A smile marred her pretty features.
Enough to blind the common man.
However, I was no common man. I could see the devil hiding behind that smile.
That’s why I took a step back.
…Or tried to.
With both her hands over my shoulders, she stopped me in place.
“Dinner on you, okay?”
“????”
***
“I feel like I’m forgetting something important.”
Kyle muttered while staring at the computer in front of him. Several options were presented before him as he dragged the cursor down and selected [House of Mist].
He raised his head and looked ahead.
“…Is everyone ready?”
Five other people were in the room, each seated in their own cubicle, all with their eyes fixed on Kyle.
They were all about to dive into a gate.
“Just to double check… Do you all have the summary of the gate information? Do you have the necessary items? Things may change in there, so you’d better have all the necessary equipment. While I can do my best to help all of you, if something goes wrong, don’t expect me to save your life.”
Just like Seth, Kyle was also a Squad Leader.
His squad was a lot more developed and experienced than Seth’s.
But it wasn’t long ago since he had been put through a similar situation to Seth.
“Nobody is saying anything? Okay, I’ll take it that all of you are ready.”
Turning his attention towards his computer, Kyle pressed the [Enter] key. Immediately, a loud whirring sound erupted from the machine, its fans spinning up rapidly. The room around him began to flicker, phasing in and out. As if the office around them was merely a wallpaper hiding the reality that hid behind it.
Despite the distortion, none of the other people in the office seemed to notice. Kyle glanced around, his gaze drifting, until something clicked in his memory.
’Oh, right… Today’s Seth’s first day as Squad Leader, isn’t it?’
He clearly remembered when Seth first told him about the promotion. Kyle had been firmly against it, but convincing Seth once his mind was made up was always a losing battle.
The cubicles around him dissolved completely, and the floor beneath his feet began to transform. The once-familiar gray carpet shimmered, then reshaped itself into creaking, timeworn wooden planks. A musty, moldy smell seeped into the air, making Kyle’s nose involuntarily scrunch up.
As the transformation continued, he let out a sigh.
’…He’s going to end up buying her dinner, isn’t he?’
Shaking his head with a mix of pity and amusement, Kyle slowly looked up at his surroundings. The sterile office was gone. In its place stood an old, abandoned house.
His desk was gone, and all that was left were the items in his hand.
Looking around, memories of the past stirred. He thought about the dinner he had had with the Team Leader in the past and smiled.
“…I feel like puking.”
“Huh?”
“What…?”
“Squad Leader?!”
“….!”